QSR1843/1/5/46-47

Depositions and examinations - Mary Gardner and Sarah Gardner, charged with stealing linen from William Phillips

15 December 1842

From: 1842 To: 1843

Sophia Phillips of Fenlake in the parish of Cardington, spinster - she is the daughter of Sophia Phillips wife of William Phillips of Fenlake who is a laundress. She assists her in her business. Yesterday morning 14 December betwen 9 and 10am she hung out a quantity of linen to dry on a hedge adjoining their garden. She was in and out of the house all morning hanging out linen until dinner time. Whe she came out from dinner at 1.20pm she found a quantity of the linen had been taken from the hedge. Between 12 and 1 she saw the prisoners walking on the road past her house to Cardington. One of them had a baby in her arms. She did not watch how far they went on the road., but 5 minutes later she saw 2 women dressed like the prisoners sitting in a ditch about 70 yards off. At the time she missed the linen she looked to see if she could see either of them but they were gone. The linen apron produced by Mr Jebbett is part of what was stolen. She knew it by several stains which will not wash out and by the band. She had had it through her hands several times before. William Thompson of Cardington, brickmaker - he works at Cardington brick kilns. As he was going home to dinner yesterday about 1pm he saw the prisoners coming from the dirction fo Fenlake. When he first saw them the elder was carrying a child and the younger appeared to have either a bundle or a basket under her cloak. Soon after the younger one set the bundle or basket down and the elder one took it up and gave her the child. They were walking very fast and looked back towards Fenlake several times which attracted his attention. They passed him and kept before him all the way through Cardington and still kept looking back. Elizabeth Phillips of Fenlake, spinster - she assists her mother as a laundress. It is her business to count all the linen that comes to be washed in the beginning of the week and before it is returned. The linen now porduced by Mr Jebbett is part of what passed through her hands last Monday. She knows them by stains upon them. They are all marked but since they have been stolen the marks have been partly picked out. On three of them the marks of the initials are still very visible. Two of them she received on Monday from Mr Littledale's housekeeper and the third from Mr Rogerson's servant Henry Ison Jebbett, superintendent of police - from information he received yesterday afternoon he went to Cople and searched the house of the older prisoner's husband and found the two prisoners sitting in the house. He told them he had come to make enquiries about some linen they had picked up on the road at Fenlake. Both prisoners answered at the same time that they had neither picked any up nor seen any. The elder of them said she should like to see the person who would swear they saw her take it and would like to know why he came to make enquiries at that house. Before he mentioned anything about her sitting beside the road she said "Because I was sitting down in the road I suppose you think I have stolen the linen". While he was talking to her he noticed a line hung across the room with some of the linen hanging on it. The first cloth he took from the line was a tea cloth (now produced). He told her she had not picked out the marks from it very cleanly as there were some still remaining. The elder prisoner snatched it out of his hand and tried to pull some of the red threads from it and said "I should like to know who can swear to it now". All the linen was wet when he found it. The prisoners - declined to say anything.

item

Gardner, Mary,
Gardner, Sarah,
Phillips, William,
Phillips, Sophia,
Thompson, William,
Phillips, Elizabeth,
Jebbett, Henry Ison

Fenlake, CARDINGTON, stealing, linen, brickmaker, police superintendent, laundress